Blockade of Maryvale transitional housing project considered successful by Chinese

During a recent interview, attorney Deng Hong and Liu Longzhu passionately urged the community to oppose harmful legislation such as Proposal 47 and SB330, emphasizing their importance in preventing homeless shelters from emerging in the Chinese community. They led a protest at the Rosemead City government from the 22nd to just past 4 a.m. on the 23rd. Their efforts, they believe, successfully limited the Maryvale expansion plan, reducing its proposal from nearly 400 beds to just 14, thereby safeguarding the San Gabriel Valley from the establishment of facilities similar to the Hargrove homeless center.

Deng highlighted that many speakers at the city council meeting expressed concerns about single homeless mothers being categorized as part of the homeless population. They urged the city government to maintain transparency and listen to public opinion. Originally, Maryvale attempted to evade expansion applications by using a grandfather clause established before the city was incorporated. However, after pressure from the city attorney, they submitted their application two years ago. Within that application, they allocated a $1 million fund provided by Congresswoman Judy Chu to update the existing 29 units for single mothers, while also including plans for building up to 374 units for the homeless. When local residents became aware of their intentions to create homeless accommodations, it prompted significant attendance at city council meetings on the 8th and 22nd for protests.

At the council meeting on the 22nd, Mayor Li Zhi stated that due to California’s passage of SB330 in 2019, local governments are prohibited from rejecting or delaying applications for homeless shelter construction. The California Attorney General has successfully prosecuted several cities, resulting in hefty penalties for multiple local governments, with the state directly approving many applications. To protect public safety, the Rosemead city government decided to impose conditions on the permit, requiring Maryvale to amend several critical elements. These stipulations included retaining the original 29 units for single mothers and limiting the newly proposed homeless units to no more than 14, as well as mandating the presence of licensed security personnel from 5 p.m. to 6 a.m. to ensure neighborhood safety.